Good times over?

[vulpes]

But not on 'smaller non-strategic sites' where the archaeology can go hang.

[Winders]

Surely it's up to the relevant local planning authorities, not the county council, to ensure that their decisions are in line with local and national policies? After all, they take the fees and the PDG from DCLG, and provision of archaeological advice by the county council is not a statutory function...

[vulpes]

Very perceptive Winders. Hmm you seem to know a lot about this :face-huh:. But there are things such as County Archaeological Services and service level agreements (or at least there were in Northants case). Provision of archaeological advice is not a statutory function full stop whatever kind of council you are. The point is that the decimation of the HE team in Northants has left a vacuum which has not been filled.

To return to the site in question SMC has not been granted. It has been agreed on the production of an appropriate WSI, when it will be granted. EH inspectors cover large areas and usually rely on a good relationship with the local curators where present. Maybe Northants would be better off as a series of unitary authorities?[:p]

NCC are now providing advice to other planning authorities on housing sites of 1 hectare and above and industrial sites of 2 hectares and above. Don't ask me why this distinction, it doesn't make any sense to me either. Maybe you can explain?

[Winders]

Equally, you seem quite up to speed on the situation in Northamptonshire...

The thresholds were based on provisions in the TCPA (1991) as amended by the PACA (2004) apparently. The thresholds are a bit more complex than those numbers though, and vary according to whether the site is brown or greenfield. Hope that helps.

[vulpes]

I think maybe you mean the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 or PACPA. This introduced Regional Spatial Strategies (RSS) and local development documents (LDD) amongst other things. It was intended to 'make better plans and make better planning decisions more quickly'. It doesn't in any way supersede the provisions of PPG16 though. The thresholds you refer to are presumably those which distinguish a non-strategic development from a strategic one. There is still a shortfall in Northants when it comes to sites which fall outside this range. Clearly the size of a site is not indexed linked to it's archaeological potential.

[Winders]

The county council in most cases is not the planning authority for planning applications in Northamptonshire. The local planning authorities still have to take into account PPG16 and policies in the LDFs, even if the county council is no longer providing archaeological advice on non-strategic applications. In the case of the development under scrutiny, the LPA is WNDC.

[Oxbeast]

Interesting...
So if a developer knew about these limits, they could reduce the size of a housing development to 1 hectare exactly, and therefore eliminate the need for archaeological conditions. Or you could split a large development into phases of just under a hectare...
The fun could never cease.

I'm confused how a smaller development is non-strategic. If you have a strategy (I would use the word 'plan') than calls for an increase in housing, any action that furthers this plan is by definition strategic.

[Winders]

Lack of county council advice on smaller non-strategic sites does not mitigate the responsibilities of the local planning authorities to take into consideration PPG16 and policies in the local development frameworks.

[historic building]

Basically there is not a suitably qualified archaeologist with access to the HER/SMR checking the weekly planning lists. Problems such as this are going to happen all of the time. I think it is excellent news that the planning committee actually listened.

There are some very good planning officers out there who take an interest in Archaeology but it is simply not the same and all work is likely to be undertaken by condition; pre-determination evaluations, unless the application is withdrawn, are likely to damage the officer's figures and are unlikely to happen without outside pressure. And this is the good officers.

[BAJR Host]

I often feel like a SCottish Goalie... "none shall pass" as they kick another ball through my bandy legs...

without my planners I am nothing... all the good advice in the world can't stop a development - just as well I keep the negatives safe !





"No job worth doing was ever done on time or under budget.."
Khufu